Cash-strapped college students are always looking for a way to save money, especially when it comes to purchasing notoriously costly textbooks. With this in mind, Amazon created Kindle Textbook Rental, a service that allows students to rent e-textbooks and enjoy savings of up to 80%.

"Students tell us that they enjoy the low prices we offer on new and used print textbooks. Now we’re excited to offer students an option to rent Kindle textbooks and only pay for the time they need — with savings up to 80 percent off the print list price on a 30-day rental," said Dave Limp, vice president, Amazon Kindle, in a press release.

It works like this: students can rent a textbook for a specified length of time, be it 30 days or a full year. Budding scholars can also pay by the day or buy the e-book outright. The e-textbook is easily accessible from a student’s Kindle, Mac, PC, or smartphone and any notes or annotations the student creates will be available after the rental period expires thanks to Amazon’s Whispersync technology. No longer must students purchase a $300 textbook they will only open once or twice or lug around a bag full of heavy books.

According to Mashable.com, The National Association of College Stores estimates that each student spends an average of $745, per year, at college bookstores, a lot of which is funded by student loans.

What do you think of Amazon’s textbook rental service? I wish this service available when I was a student! I’m still paying off the debt I racked up in college and will continue to pay for many years.